The Riveras Episode 12 - June: Milestones
by J-R Virtual Seasons
Summary: June 2000: Changes are afoot as graduation day approaches, but Eduardo is not keen to discuss plans for the future. Meanwhile, Kevin's thirteenth birthday takes an unexpected turn.
1. Chapter 1

Kevin and Jandro emerged from the showers in the boys' changing room at school with towels wrapped around their waists, and went to sit on the wooden bench nearby where their bags and clothes were waiting for them.

'Is he watching us?' Kevin whispered to Jandro.

'Yeah,' Jandro whispered back, 'I can see him in the mirror. You know he's only doing it 'cause he wants to get a look at our junk. All gym teachers are perverts – it's a fact of life!'

Kevin giggled, and started rummaging in his bag; Jandro then started rummaging in his, and a few seconds later they were both anointing their bodies liberally with deodorant.

'This procrastination tactic is costing me a fortune in extra deodorant,' said Jandro.

'Me too,' said Kevin, 'but it's worth it. Is he still there?'

'Yeah,' Jandro reported, gazing into the wall mirror again. 'Jeez, Kev, I look really puny sitting here next to you!'

'What the hell are you talking about, dude?' Kevin laughed.

'I mean it,' said Jandro, frowning slightly. 'You remember that part in human development class with the list of body changes for boys during puberty? One of them was an increase in height and muscle mass.'

'Yeah,' said Kevin, 'I remember.'

'Well it obviously only meant _you_!' said Jandro. 'Just look at yourself, Kev – you're about seven foot tall and you have the muscle mass of Arnold Schwarzenegger! And then look at me sitting next to you – I have the body of a seven-year-old girl! _And_ I'm eight months older than you!'

'Look, Jandro, I'm sure you also remember from that class how these changes happen at different times and different speeds for different people,' said Kevin. 'We all grow at different rates and we end up all different shapes and sizes; it's perfectly natural and it's perfectly okay.'

'Easy enough to say that when you're growing into the shape and size of the Incredible Hulk!' Jandro said sulkily.

'Dude, you're being silly,' said Kevin. 'Quick, we'd better put our pants back on – Mr Page is all the way down the other end of the room.'

Kevin and Jandro stood up and let their towels drop to the floor, revealing that they were both wearing white gym shorts underneath. They fumbled on the clothes hooks above the benches to get hold of their trousers, and then started to pull them on as quickly as they could.

'Seriously, Jandro, you mustn't have thoughts like that about your body,' said Kevin. 'It could cause you terrible emotional problems... and maybe even physical problems too!'

'What, you mean like steroid abuse or something?' said Jandro.

'Yeah, that kind of thing!'

'Don't worry, Kev – I'm not going to do that. Say, do you want to come over to my place after school today? We could practise some Spanish, do some homework, maybe watch a movie...'

'I'd love to, dude, but I really can't tonight,' said Kevin. 'My mom's making a special birthday meal for me and I just couldn't handle the guilt of telling her there's something I'd rather do instead. But I can do it any night next week – you name the day!'

'Yeah,' said Jandro, sounding a little subdued. 'Yeah, I'll have to get back to you about that. Hmm, I wonder if Lucy's free tonight. I'm gonna catch her as she comes out of the girls' locker room and ask her.'

Jandro finished worming his way into his shirt, slipped his shoes on without doing them up, picked up his bag and dashed from the changing room. Kevin stared after him for a moment, frowning, and then started to put on the rest of his clothes.

* * *

In the firehouse, Garrett was sitting in his wheelchair and poring over a small book full of medical diagrams, muttering to himself, ' _Acuéstate y te daré un_... Oh, I'm stuck!'

Eduardo stopped flicking through the TV channels to ask, 'Can I help?'

'No, no, I got it,' said Garrett. ' _Te daré un_... Oh, I _am_ stuck!'

'What's the word you're looking for?'

'Massage.'

Eduardo sniggered. 'What kind of massage?'

Garrett frowned at him. 'The medical kind.'

'Well, in that sentence it's _masaje_.'

'Ugh – I _knew_ that!'

'It's not very specific, though, is it?' said Eduardo. 'I mean, am I lying down on my front or my back or my side? And we're not talking about a full-body massage here, are we?'

Kylie walked in, gave Eduardo a comical look and said, 'Am I interrupting something?'

'Yes, actually,' said Garrett. 'Okay, so suppose I said, "I'll massage your thigh"?'

'Suppose you did,' said Eduardo. 'I don't know what you're talking about. Anyway, why are you asking me – why don't you get a Spanish dictionary?'

'I have one,' said Garrett, 'but I'm not using it anymore. Relying on a dictionary'd be embarrassing.'

'In what context?' asked Kylie, who by this time had seated herself on the arm of the sofa and draped most of her limbs over Eduardo.

'Working with athletes,' said Garrett, beginning to look a little uncomfortable. 'I, um... I was gonna wait for Roland before I said this, but since you asked, well...'

'You got yourself a new job, didn't you?' said Kylie.

'Yeah,' said Garrett. 'I'm actually joining the tennis tour when it comes to Flushing Meadows in September. As a physical therapist, obviously.'

'Yeah, that _is_ obvious,' said Kylie. 'Wow, Garrett, that's amazing! Think of all the places you'll get to see!'

'Do you even _like_ tennis?' asked Eduardo.

'Not especially,' said Garrett, 'but I keep an eye on it. Besides, I like physical therapy. I won't be working with any of the big names yet, but for me, one hamstring strain is the same as another.'

'And you're making an effort to learn another language,' said Eduardo. 'That's cool, man.'

'Why don't you learn French?' asked Kylie. 'Isn't pretty much everybody in the world supposed to speak either English or French?'

'I don't know, maybe,' said Garrett, 'but I took Spanish in high school, and I actually did okay at it. And besides, it's easy to learn body parts in Spanish, since they're practically the same as the technical terms in English. I guess it's because they both come from Latin.'

'So does French,' said Kylie. 'French and Spanish are almost the same.'

'Which is why the French-speakers will probably get the idea from your Spanish,' said Eduardo.

'Thank you, Eduardo,' said Garrett. ' _Gracias por defenderme_.'

' _De nada_.'

'I got a new job too,' Kylie announced suddenly. 'I just came from the interview, actually, and they told me then and there that there'll be a job ready for me in September.'

Eduardo looked at her sharply. 'You didn't tell me you had a job interview today.'

'Yeah, well,' said Kylie, 'it might not have come to anything.'

'But it did,' said Garrett. 'What is it? I thought you'd be pretty happy working here.'

'I am,' said Kylie, 'but I don't just want to be an exterminator anymore.'

'You're more than that,' said Eduardo. 'You do all that research and stuff.'

'Sure,' said Kylie, 'on things we want to trap. Look, don't worry – it's not on the other side of the country or anything. It's in the Upper East Side.'

'Where exactly?' asked Garrett. 'And doing what?'

'The Parapsychology Foundation,' said Kylie, 'doing probably nothing very interesting for a while... stacking shelves in the library and stuff like that. But I bet I can move up the ladder fast.'

'I bet you can,' said Garrett. 'That's awesome, Ky!'

'What's at the top of the ladder?' asked Eduardo.

'Running the place, I guess,' said Kylie, smiling at him and running her fingers through his hair in a soothing manner. 'But very _near_ the top is lecturing and working on the _International Journal of Parapsychology_. Maybe this time next year they'll let me read some of the proofs or something.'

'You should be writing the damn thing,' said Garrett. 'I bet no one there knows half as much as you. Roland's sure missing out on a lot of news, isn't he? Where is he?'

'Does it matter he's missing this?' said Eduardo. 'He decided to leave months ago.'

'He still cares about his friends, sweetie,' said Kylie.

'Yeah,' said Eduardo. 'He'll be real happy for both of you.'

Kylie gave him an odd look, but she didn't say anything.

'I wonder if it'll really work long-distance with him and T'Keyah,' said Garrett.

'I don't think so,' said Eduardo.

'Oh, Eduardo!' Kylie said admonishingly, and smacked him on the arm. ' _I_ think it'll work.'

Roland came in at that moment, holding a plastic baby doll in each arm, and various sanitary items in his hands. Egon and Janine were behind him.

'Hi, guys,' Roland beamed round at them, putting his bits and pieces onto the coffee table but keeping hold of the dolls. 'I'm glad you're here. Everybody should see this.'

'Why is that, Roland?' Egon asked doubtfully.

'Because it's important,' said Roland. 'Everyone should know how to do it.'

'I can do it already,' said Janine, taking one of the dolls from Roland. 'I used to do it for my nephew all the time.'

'Do what?' asked Kylie.

'Change his diaper,' said Janine, laying the doll on the coffee table and removing the lower portion of its clothing, which included a small disposable nappy. 'Oh... wow. Thanks, Roland.'

'What's she got?' asked Roland, grinning at his own inventiveness, knowing perfectly well that the doll had antiseptic cream smeared all over her lower body.

'She's had cream cakes,' said Janine, to the amusement of everyone in the vicinity. Then she found a wet wipe and began cleaning the doll up, saying, 'Obviously I wash my hands before and after this. And I hold her legs up by the ankles. That hasn't changed since Victor was a baby, has it, Roland?'

'No, Janine, you're doing great,' said Roland.

'Front to back,' Janine went on cheerfully, 'and then when she's clean, I put this cream on her so she won't get a rash. Hopefully.'

'Seems kind of counter-productive,' Eduardo remarked.

'Not if it's a real baby,' said Kylie. 'Did you ever do this for Kevin, babe?'

'No,' said Eduardo, as Janine put a clean nappy onto the doll. 'Beth would never ask a nine-year-old boy to change a diaper.'

'All right, Egon,' said Roland, holding out the other doll. 'Your turn.'

Egon took the doll tentatively by the arm, then dropped it onto the coffee table and began to pick away at its clothing.

'This one's a boy,' he remarked, once the doll was exposed.

'Really?' said Kylie, leaning forward to look. 'Well, that's educational. They didn't make 'em like that in my day.'

'It makes no difference to the process, Egon,' said Roland. 'Now, how do you hold him?'

'Like this, I believe,' Egon said uncertainly, clasping the baby's two plastic ankles in his left hand as he began to wipe away antiseptic cream with his right. When the soiled area became too difficult to reach, however, Egon picked the doll up by one ankle and sent it swinging to and fro with the force of his wiping. Everyone laughed at this except for Eduardo, who only smiled a little.

* * *

Beth placed her free hand over the telephone receiver and called into the dining room, 'Kevin, it's for you!'

Kevin sauntered into the hallway, cramming the last of a large piece of birthday cake into his mouth, and said, 'Who is it, Mom?'

'It's Lucy,' said Beth. 'Apparently she needs to talk to you about something really important; she sounds rather agitated.'

Kevin made a questioning face, licked his sticky fingers and took the phone from Beth.

'Hi, Luce,' he said into the mouthpiece. 'What's up?'

'Kev, you have to get over here right now and help me with Jandro!' Lucy's voice shrilled into his ear.

'What's the problem?' asked Kevin.

'He's drunk.'

'He's _what_?'

'He's drunk!' Lucy squeaked. 'He's absolutely off his skull! I need your help right now!'

'Jesus,' Kevin muttered. 'You'd better tell me everything, Luce. You're at his place, right?'

'Yeah,' said Lucy, 'I went back home with him after school. At first it was really great – we had a snack and did some homework and walked his dog and talked about some stuff. It was nice – it was fun.'

'Then what happened?' Kevin prompted her.

'Jandro went to this huge wooden cabinet in the lounge and opened up a kind of folding flap and showed me his dad's supply of alcohol,' said Lucy. 'There's gallons of the stuff, Kev – you wouldn't believe it! And then he started drinking it... then he drank some more... and he just kept on drinking and drinking and I couldn't stop him, and now he's completely smashed off his face!'

'Oh my God, why the hell would he do that?' said Kevin. 'I thought he was acting kinda strange in the locker room this afternoon, but... okay, Luce, I'll be right there.'

* * *

Lucy opened Jandro's front door and flung her arms around Kevin.

'Thank God you're here!' she exhaled into his ear. 'He's in the living room.'

Lucy led the way into the front hallway, lurching slightly as she did so. Kevin frowned.

'Luce, are you drunk too?' he asked.

'Of course I'm not drunk,' said Lucy, turning back round to face him. 'I'll admit, I'm feeling a little light-headed... but I'm not drunk!'

'But you _have_ been drinking, huh?'

'Well... yeah, I did drink a little.'

'How much?'

'About a pint... or a pint and a half... or two pints, absolute maximum!'

'Jesus,' Kevin muttered. 'So when you told me that Jandro had showed you his dad's alcohol stash and then started drinking from it, what you actually meant was that the pair of you raided his dad's alcohol stash and started boozing it up together!'

'Yeah, well... I guess we did do that,' said Lucy. 'But he had way more than I did! I'm really worried about him, Kev.'

'But why did you do it at all, Luce?' Kevin persisted.

'Because I was curious, okay?' said Lucy. 'My dad doesn't allow alcohol in our house – my mom always has two bottles of wine on the go at work because she can't drink at home! She says she only drinks it during the lunch hour, but I don't really believe her... and I just wanted to see what all the fuss was about.'

'And did you?'

'Not really. But it did feel kinda fun... you know, dangerous and daring. And then after we'd had a few, we definitely felt different. We started laughing and joking around and... stuff.'

'But Luce, it's much better to do that without getting drunk first,' said Kevin. 'We _do_ – all three of us, all the time!'

'Okay, Kev – don't start getting all preachy,' said Lucy, giving him a wry smile. ' Are you gonna help me with Jandro or not?'

'Yes, of course I am,' said Kevin. 'Let's take a look at him.'

* * *

When Kevin and Lucy entered the lounge, Jandro was standing on the sofa with his legs spread as far apart as they would go, making a series of extraordinary vocalisations and doing air guitar.

'Hey, Kev!' Jandro beamed. 'Way cool – the gang's all here! Lucy, Lucy, go and get the... the... the ghetto blaster thingy from the dining room. Let's put some music on and have a dance!'

'Nobody's doing any dancing right now, Jandro,' Kevin said firmly. 'We need to sober you up as quick as we can!'

'Don't be silly, Kev,' Jandro giggled. 'There's no need for that. Come on, lighten up – let's have a party!'

'Dude, just think about what's gonna happen if your folks come home and find you in this state,' said Kevin. 'And what about your little sister, huh? What's she gonna think?'

'They're not coming home!' Jandro declared triumphantly. 'They're spending the night in Massachusetts – all three of them!'

'Why?' asked Lucy.

'Ana has a... a... a clarinet thing,' Jandro slurred. 'You know, where they all play the clarinet and then they spend the night in a hotel.'

'A recital?' Kevin suggested.

'That's the one!' Jandro declared. 'Ana has a recital – and it's a really special recital, so Jandro has to stay here all by himself for the night!'

'Is that why you were so desperate to have one of us over after school?' said Kevin. 'Because you didn't want to be alone the whole time? Jeez, I feel really guilty for turning you down now.'

'Oh, Jandro,' Lucy said softly, 'you should've told me all about it.'

Jandro looked downcast for a moment, but then he shrugged and adopted a massive grin.

'It doesn't matter – you're both here now!' he said. 'So, how about this party? Let's do something really exciting and really stupid! Kev, we should go back to your place – I bet you know where your dad keeps his gun!'

'Oh my God,' Lucy muttered.

'I do know where my dad keeps his gun,' said Kevin, 'but the last thing I'd ever do is show it to anyone, or play with it myself!'

Jandro smirked and said, 'Are you sure you're still talking about the gun, dude?'

Kevin smiled secretly to himself for a moment, then he shook his head and refocused.

'Lucy, could you go into the kitchen and see if you can make some black coffee?' he said. 'I'll get Jandro into a sitting position.'

'Okay, Kev,' said Lucy, and ran through the nearby archway into the kitchen.

'Now come on, Jandro – it's time to get down from there,' said Kevin. 'Here, give me your hand.'

Kevin reached for Jandro's wrist, but Jandro pulled it away sharply.

'What the hell do you think you're doing, Kev?' he snarled. 'You think just because you're bigger than me you can make me do what you want? You think Jandro doesn't have his own mind, huh? You think Jandro's not grown up and responsible enough to take care of himself? You're just like the rest of them – you think Jandro doesn't know how to take care of people, don't you?'

'I think Jandro's drunk and he needs to get off the couch!' said Kevin. 'Come on – get down right now.'

'What if I don't, huh?' Jandro shot back. 'Are you gonna make me? Huh, tough guy? Is that what you're gonna do?'

Kevin frowned, made a lunge, grabbed Jandro around the waist, lifted him bodily into the air and dumped him into an armchair. Jandro started screaming and flailing in Kevin's grip.

'You all think you're so much better than me, don't you?' Jandro yelled. 'Well, you're not! You think I'm afraid to fight you, Kev? You think I'm scared of you? I'm not, and I'll prove it to you!'

With surprising speed, Jandro jumped to his feet and aimed a clumsy blow at Kevin. Kevin ducked out of the way and punched Jandro in the face; Jandro swooned, fell back onto the chair and lay there, unmoving and with his eyes closed.

'Jesus Christ!' Lucy exclaimed from the kitchen archway. 'What did you do that for, Kev?'

'Oh my God, I'm so sorry – it was a reflex!' said Kevin. 'Did you find the coffee?'

'No, I don't think they have any,' said Lucy. 'Jeez, Kev, you've knocked him out cold!'

'I have not!' said Kevin. 'He's passed out because he's completely drunk – I just triggered the collapse, that's all. Maybe we should put him to bed and let him sleep it off, seeing as there isn't any coffee and his family won't be back until tomorrow.'

'But are you sure he's really okay?' said Lucy. 'What if he's in a coma or he's had an alcohol-induced stroke or something?'

'I don't think he has, Luce.'

'But we can't be sure, can we? Maybe we should call an ambulance.'

'Yeah – emergency room staff just love to have drunken teenagers wasting their time!'

'But we can't just put him to bed and leave him there without making sure he's okay!'

'I guess I could check his pupils,' said Kevin.

'How do you mean?' asked Lucy.

'I could shine a light into his eyes and see if his pupils react the way they should,' said Kevin.

'What would that tell you?'

'Well, if they don't then there's something wrong with his brain. I'd need a flashlight – or a penlight, preferably.'

'I think I saw one of those when I was looking for coffee,' said Lucy. 'Wait a second.'

Lucy went back into the kitchen, and returned a few seconds later with the required item. She passed it to Kevin, who went up to Jandro and started to force his left eyelid open with his thumb and forefinger.

'Ooh, be careful of his eyes,' Lucy winced. 'You might poke them out or something.'

Kevin shone the light into both of Jandro's eyes, and nodded in satisfaction.

'They're doing what they're supposed to do,' said Kevin. 'I really think he's okay, Luce.'

'Let's get him to bed, then,' said Lucy. 'Do you think he'll wake up for a minute, so he can help us just a little?'

Kevin slapped Jandro's face and said quite loudly, 'Come on, Jandro – wake up now, buddy,' and Lucy fetched a damp cloth to wipe his face with, but nothing worked. In the end, Kevin picked Jandro up by his shoulders and the backs of his knees and carried him to his bedroom, while Lucy went on ahead, opening doors.

'Jeez,' Kevin exhaled heavily, as he dumped Jandro onto his bed, 'he's not all _that_ puny!'

'What do we do now?' said Lucy.

'All we can do,' said Kevin, 'is wait for him to wake up.'


	2. Chapter 2

Eduardo was half-dressed and pouring coffee in his kitchenette. Once he'd finished, he knocked the kettle into the drying rack and overbalanced some of the items that were in it.

'Oh no. Oh, dear Lord,' he said, as various items of kitchenware went clattering to the ground.

'You okay, babe?' asked Kylie, who was sitting up in Eduardo's bed and wearing his T-shirt.

'Fine,' said Eduardo, stepping over a spatula as he brought over her coffee. 'I'll get it later.'

'Thanks, sweetie.'

'It's only instant.'

'Hey, I'm no coffee snob,' said Kylie. 'You know how I feel about instant. And, um, speaking of feelings...'

'What – that was your way of saying you want to know about mine?'

'I always want to know about your feelings. But especially now. It seems a little early for the seventh-inning stretch, so I thought maybe something was distracting you, and I think it even more now that you just threw those utensils all over the kitchen.'

'Oh, I don't know,' said Eduardo. 'I guess it just feels kind of weird, how everything's about to change. But most people seem pretty excited about it.'

'And you're not?'

'I don't know. Maybe I don't have as much to be excited about. I mean, Egon and Janine are excited about becoming parents, and Garrett's excited about his tennis tour, and Roland's excited about Stanford, and T'Keyah's excited about med school, and Beth's excited about getting back into the workplace, and you're excited about the Parapsychology Foundation...'

'Eduardo,' said Kylie, 'I'm excited about us.'

'You are?'

'Of course I am, you idiot! Aren't _you_ excited about us?'

'Yes, of course, very. I just didn't know if...'

'What?'

'No, nothing.'

'Seriously?' said Kylie. 'Did you think I was about to dump you or something? Y'know, that could really bother me if I thought about it.'

'Then don't,' said Eduardo. 'I know – I'm an idiot. It's just... I don't know... well, you've grown up a lot since we met, and I don't think I have. Like, you've outgrown the Ghostbusters and I haven't.'

'That doesn't mean I've outgrown _you_.'

'Yeah... sorry.'

'It's okay,' said Kylie, giving his hand a squeeze. 'Anyway, I haven't outgrown the Ghostbusters. I still plan on being involved. There should really be a lot more contact between the Ghostbusters and the Parapsychology Foundation, if you ask me.'

'Then there will be,' said Eduardo. 'You can make that happen.'

'So can you. We'll be working at it together, after all, and we're good at that. And anyway, you _have_ grown up a lot. You didn't think you even wanted to be a Ghostbuster to start off with, but over the years, you've realised it's what you really want to do. Finding something you love, and sticking with it, is a really smart and mature thing to do.'

'Yeah, well,' Eduardo said with a shrug, 'I can't do anything else.'

'Sure you can,' said Kylie, grinning at him.

Eduardo grinned back, and said, 'Not anything I'm prepared to charge for.'

'I'm glad to hear it,' Kylie giggled. 'But seriously, I don't just mean that. You'll be able to use your other skills besides ghostbusting, come September.'

'I don't have any other skills.'

'Yes you do – you have your favourite uncle skills! With the three of us gone, Egon'll have to recruit a new team of Ghostbusters, and you'll have to take care of them and show them the ropes. Remember when we first started, how I always used to be like, "Egon will know what to do"?'

Eduardo smiled wryly. 'How could I forget?'

'Well, with the next generation it'll be, "Eduardo will know what to do"!'

'You really think so?'

'I know so,' said Kylie. 'In fact I have the same thought myself a lot of the time, even if you don't.'

'Well,' said Eduardo, 'sometimes I really _don't_ know what to do. But I think I've gotten better at that over the last four years or so.'

'I hope so,' said Kylie. 'I actually need to, um... well, ask you to make a few decisions soon.'

'Oh?'

'Yeah, see, what's happening is... well, my landlady wants me to vacate my apartment by the end of the month because she wants to show it to next year's students and get it ready and stuff, and she doesn't want it to smell of cat – which I think was kind of rude of her to say, actually, but anyway – I've found someplace else to live... well, my dad helped me a lot with that... but it won't be ready until the end of August. And since my job starts in September, I decided to see if I could get enough money together to go away for a while. You know how I've always wanted to travel the world?'

'Sure.'

'Well, I can't do it all at once, because I have Pagan to take care of, and I have to earn a living. But my dad and I figured out that I can spend a couple of months travelling around Europe while I'm homeless and jobless, and I was wondering if maybe... well, if you'd want to come with me.'

'Are you kidding?' said Eduardo. 'I'd follow you anywhere!'

'We'd have to think about money...'

'Oh, don't worry, I got money. It'll be fine. No, it'll be more than fine – it'll be awesome! Wow. You really want me to go with you?'

'Why wouldn't I?' said Kylie, putting her coffee mug on Eduardo's bookcase, then giving him a long hug. 'I meant what I said on that train to Whitby about travelling with you... except I think I made a stupid joke instead of saying I loved you. But I _do_ love you, and that's why I want you with me.'

'I love you too,' said Eduardo, returning the hug with one arm and putting down his own coffee mug with the other. 'What about Pagan?'

'My dad'll take him,' said Kylie. 'I'll miss him like crazy, of course, but it won't be for long. I'll miss Pagan, I mean, not my dad.'

'Yeah, obviously.'

'Then when he and I move into our new place in September... well actually, sweetie, I want you to move in with us.'

Eduardo drew back from the hug and stared at her in surprise. 'You do?'

'I _really_ do. Do, um... do you want to?'

'You bet your ass I want to!'

Kylie laughed with joy and relief, saying, 'And you wouldn't want me to lose my ass on a bet, right?'

'You know I like your ass exactly where it is,' said Eduardo, giving her another hug, and a squeeze in the aforementioned area. 'So where is this place? How big is it? How much is the rent?'

'Well,' said Kylie, 'it's actually not rented. My dad's helping me to buy the place.'

'Seriously?' said Eduardo. 'Wow. I guess it really _is_ time to grow up. Pretty scary, huh?'

'Terrifying,' said Kylie. 'Oh, I don't know – saying it all out loud makes it sound completely impractical. I can't really let my dad help me buy an apartment _and_ go travelling, can I?'

'Don't say that,' said Eduardo. 'You're gonna get your Europe trip before you have to settle down and be a real adult. I told you, _I_ have money. I mean, I _really_ have it. It's in trust, from my dad's life insurance, and I can get to it when I'm twenty-two. I guess we'll already be in Europe by then, but... well, how would you feel about me coming in on this apartment of yours?'

'What? You don't mean actually buying it with me?'

'That's exactly what I mean. Why – don't you want me to?'

Kylie looked perplexed. 'Well sure, if you're serious, but... but... you haven't even seen it – you might not like it.'

'If you're living in it, I'll like it.'

'Oh, wow,' said Kylie. 'Sweetie... of course I'll buy the place with you, if that's what you really want. Are you sure it _is_ what you want?'

'I've never been more sure of anything.'

'Well, that's brave of you. Takes guts to make a move like that.'

'Yeah, well,' said Eduardo, 'I got guts.'

'I know.'

'It's an easy decision anyway – owning your own place is really smart, if you can do it. And then if Carlos comes over I can be like, _my_ apartment; _my_ doorway; _my_ hot water...'

'Mine too, don't forget.'

'Oh, that's okay. Beth has a share in this place.'

Kylie's jaw dropped and her eyes widened. 'Seriously?'

'You wouldn't know it, huh?'

'No I would not!'

'I'll have to talk to him about this,' Eduardo went on. 'I mean, I'm not gonna let him talk me out of it or nothing, but I did say I'd discuss Dad's insurance money with him. I would've done that anyway, even if he hadn't brought it up after you guys were stuck in that elevator. I mean, he didn't get anything when our dad died.'

'Really?' said Kylie. 'How did he not get _anything_?'

'Well, that was an exaggeration, but not much of one. Dad left Carlos a little money but he didn't have much, and my mother got most of it. She also got some money from the NYPD and the insurance company, and she tried to make Carlos take some from her, but he wouldn't. And he didn't get anything from the life insurance like me because he wasn't a dependent. I thought maybe I'd give him some of mine, when I didn't really have any plans for it, but now...'

'Don't think too much about that stuff now,' said Kylie. 'We can figure it out as we go.'

'I can't help thinking about it,' said Eduardo. 'I mean, he and Beth'll need to find some money to fix up this place before they can rent it out to anyone other than me.'

'Really?' said Kylie, looking around, then noticing a peeling patch of wallpaper in one of the corners. 'Oh, yeah, I can see what you mean.'

'You've been coming here for a year and a half and you never noticed the state of the wallpaper?'

Kylie grinned, and said, 'When I'm here, it's not the walls I'm looking at.' She rose to her knees, flung her arms around his neck and kissed him vigorously. Then she pulled away and went on, 'I can't wait to live with you, sweetie. Maybe you can finally take out whatever's in those boxes by the bathroom and under the desk.'

'Oh,' said Eduardo, 'so it's the boxes you look at when you're here?'

'Sometimes. I feel like they're kind of symbolic... like there's still stuff I don't know about you. I mean, those were the first real details I've heard about what happened after your dad died.'

'Well, I don't think there's anything very revealing in the boxes. Just junk there's no room for.'

'You can tell a lot about someone from their junk,' said Kylie. 'No, wait, that didn't come out right.'

They laughed, then Eduardo said, 'I guess it'll be nice if there's some space for my junk.'

'Always, sweetie. So what _is_ in those boxes – any more books?'

'No, what you see on your right is my entire collection so far. I guess we'll be in Europe when _Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire_ comes out, won't we? Maybe I can buy it in England.'

'I'll get it for your birthday,' said Kylie. 'Maybe in Whitby Books.'

'I'd sure like to see Whitby without any Goths. Except for you, of course.'

'Well, maybe not even me... but never mind that now. Is it time to finish the seventh inning yet?'

'Um, actually,' said Eduardo, putting his hands on her wrists to halt an enthusiastic display of affection, 'do you mind if I go talk to Carlos first? I kinda wanna get that done.'

'No, I don't mind,' said Kylie, though she sounded surprised. 'I'll pick up your spatulas and stuff while I wait.'

'Oh, you don't have to do that.'

'Well, it's something to do.'

They both got to their feet and headed off in different directions, she towards the kitchenette and he towards the front door. Eduardo grinned as the T-shirt Kylie had been wearing flew across the room and hit him in the face. He then put it on, as she said, 'Hurry back, _Chico amante_.'

* * *

Meanwhile, in their own bedroom, Carl and Beth were enjoying a post-coital embrace.

'Well done, honey,' said Beth, giggling. 'Did you enjoy that?'

'Of course,' said Carl. 'Couldn't you tell?'

'I was a little busy,' Beth tittered, just as the doorbell rang. 'Oh, I wonder who that could be.'

'Who the hell cares?' said Carl.

'Not me,' said Beth, shifting comfortably in his arms. Then the doorbell rang again, continuously and insistently. Beth sighed and raised her head. 'It's probably Eduardo with an emergency.'

'It's him all right,' said Carl, his expression darkening as he climbed out of bed.

'Maybe I should go,' said Beth, beginning to look anxious.

'No, you're not decent.'

'Well, neither are you.'

Scowling, Carl picked up a pile of clothes and made his way out of the room. The phone started to ring as he reached the downstairs hallway, but he only spared it a momentary look of annoyance before Beth was heard to get out of bed and answer the upstairs extension. Once Carl was at the front door, his clothes were all on his body, if they were not exactly straight or tidy. Still scowling, he wrenched open the door and said, 'You don't have to break my bell, you know.'

'Well, you don't open the door.'

'What do you want?'

'Am I interrupting something?' Eduardo asked, taking in Carl's overall appearance.

'Yes actually, but I'm here now. Are you gonna tell me what you want or not? It'd have to be important, or you wouldn't be wearing out my doorbell battery.'

'Er, yeah, it is important,' said Eduardo. 'It's about my trust fund.'

'Oh,' said Carl, and he stepped to one side. 'In that case, you'd better come in.'

* * *

'Yeah, I'll come home as soon as I can tomorrow morning, after I've made sure Jandro's really okay,' Kevin said into the phone in Jandro's hallway. 'I just... I don't want him to wake up and find he's by himself in the house. Yeah, Lucy's staying too; she's gonna sleep in Jandro's sister's bed and I'm gonna sleep in Jandro's parents' bed... Yeah, I suggested that at first, but it turns out I can't fit in Jandro's sister's bed without my feet hanging off the end, so Lucy insisted I take the big one. Okay, sure. Yeah, thanks Mom. Bye.'

Kevin used his finger to end the phone call and passed the receiver to Lucy. She accepted it with a smile.

'This isn't gonna be an easy conversation,' she said, sighing slightly.

'Who are you going to call?' Kevin asked.

'I'll try to get my brother on his cell phone,' said Lucy. 'Are you planning to stand there and listen to me the whole time?'

'No, I'm going to take all those empty bottles out to the recycling dumpster and shove them as far down as I can,' said Kevin, 'then I'll take a look in the kitchen and see if there's anything we can eat before we go to bed.'

'Good plan,' said Lucy.

* * *

'You know mortgage is French for "death pledge", don't you?' said Carl.

'I know "death",' said Eduardo. 'I didn't know "pledge" because it's nothing like the Spanish.'

'Well, death is the main part – doesn't it scare you?'

'You're not gonna talk me out of it, Carlos.'

Carl scowled. 'I'm not trying to. I'm just helping you to make an informed decision.'

'I've already made my decision.'

'Then why did you come down here?'

'Because it's Dad's money,' said Eduardo. 'I thought maybe... well, don't you think you're entitled to some of it? I mean, you made a death pledge too.'

Carl's scowl deepened. 'I know. I've been paying my mortgage for the past fifteen years just fine. I don't need your money.'

'Dad's money.'

'No, _your_ money. Dad helped me to buy this place, and you got money in trust so he could do the same thing for you even though he's not around anymore.'

'Oh, so you're saying I'm _supposed_ to buy an apartment?'

'Well,' said Carl, 'I think you were _supposed_ to go to the police academy, hence the age twenty-two stipulation, but since that's not happening... Well, what about your college loan?'

'I can handle it.'

'Maybe. You'll have to figure out what to spend now and what your monthly outgoings will be. How much is the deposit you're paying on this place of yours?'

'Probably quite a lot.'

Carl frowned. 'Sounds to me like you need to sit down with a calculator and some bank statements and stuff.'

'I will,' said Eduardo. 'I haven't had time yet. Kylie only brought it up like five minutes ago.'

'Oh, God – don't rush into anything, will you?' Carl said with a wince. 'You could always rent for a while first. You know, to make sure you really do want to live together. Oh, but if Kylie and Steve are buying the place anyway... well, you could wait a while before you go in with them.'

'That'd just double the paperwork, wouldn't it? Anyway, there's no need for a trial run.'

So saying, Eduardo stood up to go. Carl stood up also.

'All right, so you've made up your mind,' he said. 'If all you want me to say is use as much money as you need... well, that goes without saying. It's yours. I mean, obviously I'd tell you not to blow it all on a year-long vacation or something, but...' He finished with a shrug.

'Yeah,' said Eduardo, with an awkward little laugh, 'a year would be excessive.'

'When you sit down with your calculator and everything,' said Carl, 'do you want me to be there?'

'Well, I don't know. Depends how helpful you're planning to be.'

'Oh, _very_ helpful. Ten.'

'As much as that, huh?' said Eduardo. 'Well, look, let's talk about it later. I'd better go now – I was kind of in the middle of something.'

'Me too,' said Carl. 'Better, um... get back to it.'

Eduardo nodded, then scurried out of the house. Carl went back upstairs to Beth, who was sitting on the edge of the bed in her night attire.

'He's buying an apartment with Kylie,' Carl told her, as soon as he had entered the room.

'Oh, how wonderful!' said Beth.

'You think so?'

'Nothing wrong with falling in love and buying a place together in your twenties,' Beth said, smiling at Carl, and he smiled back.

'Who was on the phone?' Carl asked, after a few seconds of silent smiling. 'Was it Kevin?'

'Yes, it was,' said Beth. 'He's staying the night at Jandro's place.'

'Another sleepover, huh?'

'Not exactly. Jandro's sleeping off a titanic drinking binge and Kevin's staying to support him. Lucy's there too.'

'Oh,' said Carl, his brow creasing in thought. 'Is Lucy comatose, like Jandro?'

'I don't think so,' said Beth.

'Do you... do you think Kevin's planning to make a move on her?'

'No, I don't think that for a moment. If I did, I'd drive over there right now and pick him up!'

'Yeah... yeah, I guess you'd have to do that, wouldn't you?' said Carl. 'You really trust the boy, huh?'

'Yes, I really do,' said Beth. 'He may only have turned thirteen today, but it's been clear to me for some time that he's an early developer in many ways.'

'I'll say he is!' said Carl. 'Have you seen the _size_ of him recently? He'll be bigger than me by the time he's sixteen!'

'In that case,' Beth said with a smile, 'you'd better start being nice to him, hadn't you?'

'Hey!' Carl laughed. 'I _am_ nice to him! Now why don't we both get back into bed so I can be nice to _you_ some more, huh?'

* * *

Kevin returned to the hallway to find that Lucy still had the phone receiver pressed to her ear.

'No, you don't have to lie about that part – I'm really not going to have sex!' she was saying. 'All Dad and Mom need to know is I'm with a friend and we're helping out another friend, and I'll be back in the morning. Just don't mention the fact that both my friends are boys, okay? Yeah... yeah, okay. Thanks, John. Bye.'

Lucy replaced the receiver with a sigh, then turned to fix Kevin with a reflective smile.

'My dad'll probably spend the whole night planning exactly what he's gonna say to make me feel about two inches tall in the morning,' she said. 'Just imagine if he could see us now, Kev – you and me, here together in the middle of the night... not that it's the middle of the night yet, but still... He probably wouldn't really care about Jandro; after all, he's obviously not capable of much right now. But you, Kev... well, you're obviously capable of plenty.'

'Believe me, Luce,' said Kevin, 'I'm not a threat to you.'

'A threat?' said Lucy. 'That's the last thing I'd ever think of you as, Kev. You're a tower of strength, both physically and emotionally. That's why I called _you_ when I realised I needed help with Jandro. I kept thinking to myself, "Kevin will know what to do". And I was right – you knew exactly what to do with him.'

'I punched him in the face,' Kevin pointed out.

'Well, it definitely calmed him down,' Lucy laughed. 'Seriously, though, there's no one I'd rather have with me in this situation than you. The only other person I considered calling was John; he can be very useful in a lot of situations because he's sixteen and he has a car – he says he'll come and pick us up tomorrow morning if we want, by the way – but the trouble with John is... well, he's not you, Kev.'

With that, Lucy snaked her arms around Kevin's waist and rested her head on his chest.

'Luce, I... I'm really not all that special, you know,' he said, hugging her back.

'Of course you are,' Lucy insisted. 'That's a big part of what makes you so special – you don't know it yourself.'

'I, er... I found some cold pizza in the fridge,' said Kevin, 'and there's a note on the counter telling Jandro he can eat as much of it as he wants. Maybe we should eat some of that and then go to bed... in separate beds, obviously.'

'Yeah, obviously,' Lucy laughed, withdrawing her arms and taking a step back. 'Oh! I'm sorry, Kev – was that unwanted physical contact?'

'No,' said Kevin, fixing her with a smile. 'It was very wanted, Luce.'

'Great,' Lucy beamed. 'Come on, then; let's go eat some pizza!'

* * *

The next morning, Kevin and Lucy were sitting opposite each other in Jandro's living room, stuffing the last remnants of the cold pizza into their mouths. A crashing sound came from the hallway; they both looked over to the glass-panelled door.

'He's definitely moving around,' said Kevin.

'Yeah,' said Lucy. 'He's been in and out of the bathroom for hours, peeing like a waterfall and retching and God knows what else. You're lucky you had the use of that en-suite all night, Kev.'

'I think he's coming,' said Kevin.

Sure enough, Jandro entered the room a few seconds later. He was wearing a fresh T-shirt and a clean pair of white jeans, and carrying all the clothes he had been wearing the day before in a bundle, along with several items of linen from his bed. He smiled when he saw his friends.

'You're both still here,' he remarked.

'Of course we are,' said Lucy.

'Kev, could you come into the laundry room with me and help me figure out how to turn on the washing machine?' Jandro asked.

'Sure thing, dude,' said Kevin, jumping to his feet. 'I'm sure it's not too complicated.'

Half a minute later, Jandro came back into the living room divested of his pile of soiled clothes; Kevin followed close behind him. Jandro went to sit next to Lucy on the couch, and Kevin sat on the other side of him.

'I can't thank you both enough for being here for me,' said Jandro, staring into his lap. 'I want to tell you about what happened yesterday – I want to tell you why I did what I did.'

'You told us about the clarinet recital,' said Lucy.

'Yeah, I remember doing that,' said Jandro, 'but there's more to it. Kev, I hope you know that all that garbage I was spouting in the locker room wasn't about you – everything was just getting to me yesterday. I don't have body issues; I really don't!'

'I totally believe you, dude,' said Kevin. 'Go on – tell us what you want to tell us.'

'This isn't the first time that my parents and Ana have spent the night away from home after a clarinet recital,' said Jandro. 'They had a phase of doing it fairly regularly about three years ago, when they used to go around talking about Ana joining the National Youth Orchestra. She didn't do it in the end, but anyway... whenever they went away, _mi Yaya Juanita y Abue Tomás_ would come and stay the night with me... and we'd always make a big occasion of it and have a lot of fun together.'

' _Entiendo, amigo_ ,' Kevin said quietly.

'You got drunk because you were missing your grandma,' said Lucy.

'Exactly,' said Jandro. 'And it didn't help that it was exactly two years yesterday since she died.'

'Oh, Jandro!' said Lucy, sounding very distressed.

'That recital has pretty lousy timing, dude,' said Kevin.

'But what about your grandpa?' asked Lucy. 'Why didn't he stay the night with you? He's still alive, right?'

'Yeah, he's still alive,' said Jandro, 'but last week my parents decided they couldn't be bothered to take care of him anymore, so they stuck him inside a nursing home. He's not allowed out at night without adult supervision. What a crock, right? I mean, _he's_ an adult. I hate my parents for dumping him in that place – it was a rotten thing to do to the old man.'

'I guess they thought they were doing the right thing,' said Kevin. 'I mean, if he needs taking care of...'

'We could've taken care of him here!' Jandro said bitterly. 'I told them we should – I said I'd do all the hard work! But they said I'm not old enough or responsible enough to know what I'm talking about. Aren't I old enough to take care of my own grandfather? I'm thirteen years old, God damn it! Aren't I responsible enough to know what would've been involved? I think I am.'

'Of course you are, Jandro,' said Lucy. 'Parents can be complete butt-heads.'

'Clearly they think I'm old enough and responsible enough to take care of _myself_ ,' said Jandro, 'so why not Abue too? Didn't my dad say it himself? "Jandro's old enough now to be left on his own and take care of himself for one night, so it doesn't matter," he said to my mom. He was right about the first part... at least, I thought he was... but he was definitely wrong about the second part. It does matter. The fact that everything's different now, it _does_ matter! Maybe it doesn't matter to him... but it matters to me.'

Jandro reached up to wipe his streaming eyes. Lucy was crying too.

'I don't think your dad can've remembered the significance of the date,' said Kevin.

'Of course he didn't,' said Jandro. 'He never remembers stuff like that. I don't think he even cares – I mean, I don't see how he can! Even when Yaya died, he just sat on the couch watching ESPN's coverage of the soccer World Cup in France and saying things like "these things happen" and "it's all part of life's rich tapestry"... God, I really could kill that man sometimes!'

Jandro blinked away a few more tears, and noticed that Lucy's hand was now on his left knee and Kevin's hand was on his right knee. He wiped his eyes again, and smiled.

'You know, I've learned something very important through this whole experience,' he said quietly. 'I thought my family had totally ditched me, but I was wrong. My family was here for me after all. They say friends are the family you choose for yourself... and given the choice, I'd definitely pick you two.'

All three of them exchanged warm smiles, and clapped each other on the shoulder several times.

'I'm sorry I punched you in the face, dude,' said Kevin. 'I think you're getting a black eye.'

'It doesn't matter, Kev,' said Jandro. 'I'm glad you knocked some sense into me. It's kinda ironic, I guess – you reach the milestone of becoming a teenager and the first thing you have to do is stop me totally screwing up the milestone of spending the night home alone for the first time!'

'Is that ironic?' said Lucy, sounding very doubtful.

'There has to be some irony in there somewhere,' said Jandro. 'Er... doesn't there?'

'Maybe it's just that being hungover makes you overly philosophical,' said Lucy, smiling fondly at Jandro. 'I bet you've never even used the word "milestone" before in your life, have you?'

'Um... not that I can remember,' Jandro admitted with a laugh.

'Speaking of being home alone,' said Kevin, 'my parents obviously think I've passed the milestone of being old enough and responsible enough to come home from school and be alone in the house for a few hours. They're both gonna be out working every day after school in September. I was thinking maybe you guys might want to come home with me sometimes and we could hang out? We can eat and talk and watch TV and do homework and just screw around doing whatever the hell we want, really.'

'Ooh, sounds like fun,' said Jandro.

'Yeah, count me in,' said Lucy.

'I'm, er... I'm gonna invite Oscar too,' Kevin confessed. 'I can't wait to introduce him to you; I just know you'll like him...'

'As much as you do?' Lucy suggested, as it appeared that Kevin had left the sentence unfinished.

'Well,' said Kevin, smiling and looking down at his feet, 'maybe not quite _that_ much.'

'Maybe we can invite Ella sometimes,' said Lucy, 'so I can have some female company.'

'We should invite Michael too, if we're gonna do that,' said Jandro.

'Yeah,' said Lucy. 'I guess he's not so bad, really.'

'Sounds like quite a party,' said Kevin. 'Maybe the six of us will end up being a gang, huh?'

'And terrorise the streets of Manhattan?' Lucy suggested with a grin.

'No – a friendship gang!' Kevin laughed.

'I hope we do,' said Jandro. 'Just think of all the fun stuff we could do together! Say, don't you two want to go home now? I don't want you to get into too much trouble on my account.'

'That's probably a good idea,' said Kevin. 'I'm supposed to be at my uncle's graduation ceremony in a couple of hours.'

'Jandro, do you want me to stay with you until your family comes home?' said Lucy. 'I can stick around, even if Kev can't.'

'No, that's okay,' said Jandro, 'they should be back in less than an hour. I'll just go swallow a few painkillers, then I'll take Pacey for a walk around the block – hopefully it'll clear my head and I won't look totally zombified when they get home!'

'In that case, I'll go call John for a ride,' said Lucy. 'Are you gonna join me, Kev?'

'Yeah, thanks,' said Kevin.

They all stood up at the same time. Lucy and Jandro immediately fell into a close embrace.

'Thanks for everything, Luce,' Jandro said quietly into her ear. 'I really enjoyed all the stuff we did together yesterday, before things started getting weird. I hope your dad doesn't give you too much crap because of this whole situation.'

'It's okay, Jandro,' Lucy replied. 'You're totally worth the trouble.'

They pulled away from each other and smiled, then Lucy went into the hallway to use the phone. Jandro turned his attention to Kevin, and wrapped his arms around him.

'Thanks, Kev,' said Jandro. 'You're a pal in a million.'

Kevin smiled and patted Jandro on the back, then Jandro wandered off to the kitchen. Kevin looked at the clock on the wall, and felt his stomach rumble.

* * *

Kevin crashed through the kitchen door to find Carl and Beth eating breakfast at the breakfast bar. They both looked up at him; Beth smiled.

'Hi, honey,' she said. 'Is Jandro okay now?'

'Yeah, he's fine,' said Kevin. 'He just needed to work through some stuff, so me and Lucy helped him. Jesus, I need a Go-Gurt!'

Kevin went over to the fridge, yanked out a Go-Gurt and drained the tube as though his life depended on it. As he was extracting a second tube, Carl sniffed the air and made a face at Beth.

'Kevin, how would you like it if I whipped up some French toast and fresh orange juice for you?' Beth suggested.

'That'd be great, Mom,' Kevin replied, his mouth full of Go-Gurt.

'Maybe you want to step in and out of the shower while I'm getting it ready?' said Beth. 'You've been wearing those clothes since yesterday and... well, I don't mean to embarrass you, but...'

'You stink, son,' said Carl.

'Yeah, okay, I get the message,' Kevin laughed. 'Consider me gone.'

Flashing his parents a smile, Kevin took off every piece of clothing he was wearing apart from his underpants, piled them neatly on the kitchen counter, and dashed from the room.

'Well,' said Carl, raising his eyebrows, 'at least that proves Oscar's not the only person he enjoys getting undressed in front of.'

'Oh, Carl,' said Beth, unable to keep the laughter from her voice.

* * *

In an outdoor area of the college grounds, a mass of people were waving scrolls triumphantly and hugging and kissing each other, all of them wearing black gowns and mortarboards. Dotted around were the friends and family of the class of 2000, all of them hanging tactfully back and discussing their loved ones among themselves. Carl, Beth and Kevin were included in their number.

'Think you'll go to college, Kevin?' asked Carl.

'I don't know, Dad,' said Kevin. 'Do I have to decide right now?'

'Of course not, honey,' said Beth, as she scanned the sea of black gowns. 'Now, where the heck is Eduardo?'

'I see him,' Kevin said, after a quick look round. 'He's standing around looking awkward while he waits for Kylie to finish hugging Roland and Garrett.'

'Oh yes,' said Beth. 'It's so hard to recognise her without all that makeup, isn't it? I never seem to get used to it.'

'She only started it today, Mom,' said Kevin.

'Why do you suppose she's done it?' Carl asked, somewhat suspiciously.

'Because she's still growing up,' said Beth, 'and today seems like a pretty good day to make the change. I think she looks really pretty without it, and all those hair products too. Don't you think she has pretty hair?'

'I don't know,' said Carl. 'What's her natural colour?'

'Maybe we'll see when she gets back from Europe,' said Kevin.

Carl snorted derisively. 'Europe...'

'She's crying,' said Kevin.

'Crying?' said Carl. 'No, she can't be crying!'

'She's not made of stone, Carl,' said Beth. 'This could be the last time the four of them are together for a while. Look, I think Roland's crying too.'

'Oh my God,' said Carl, turning away from the scene, for Beth was right: Roland was indeed crying as he hugged the equally tearful Kylie.

'Guys, come on,' Garrett was saying, not making eye contact with any of the group, 'this is just getting embarrassing now.'

'Sorry, Garrett,' said Kylie, pulling out of the hug and wiping away her tears. 'I just really wish you guys weren't leaving for so long! I mean, I'm happy for you and everything, but... you're making me cry!'

'I can see that,' said Garrett. 'Come on and give me mine quick, before the floodgates open again.'

Kylie, with a wobbly smile, went over to Garrett and leaned into his outstretched arms. He patted her on the back, swallowing a slight lump in his throat.

'Promise me you won't lose touch,' said Kylie.

'Kylie, come on,' said Garrett. 'I'm hardly likely to lose touch with my soul sister, now, am I?'

'Oh, Garrett!' said Kylie, and burst into tears again. Then, pulling out of the hug, she managed to say, 'Eduardo'll miss you both too, but he won't admit it.'

'It's not like we're never gonna see each other again,' said Eduardo, looking at his feet.

'Right,' said Roland, wiping away his own tears. 'That'll never happen. We go together like rama lama lama ka dinga da dinga dong.'

Eduardo and Garrett looked blank, but Kylie laughed and said, 'Being reminded of the end of _Grease_ , Roland?'

'Yeah, kinda,' Roland smiled sheepishly.

'Then for God's sakes, let's not let it go any further,' said Garrett. 'You know, you're all gonna see _me_ again before I go, whether or not Roland leaves before Ky and Eddie get back from Europe. Look, I'd better go see my mom and dad. They're starting to look antsy.'

'Mine too,' said Roland, giving Kylie's arm a squeeze. 'I'll see you guys later.'

'I hope so,' said Kylie, sniffing, as Roland and Garrett went off in separate directions. Then suddenly she found herself enfolded in Eduardo's arms, so she snuggled into his chest, saying, 'Good thing I decided today was the day to ditch the mascara, huh?'

'Cheer up,' said Eduardo. 'Don't forget, we got a lot to look forward to.'

'I know,' said Kylie. 'But you're crying too on the inside, aren't you?'

'Well,' said Eduardo, 'maybe a little. Don't tell Carlos.'

Kylie gave a hiccuping laugh, then said, 'You'd better go talk to them. My dad's looking very awkward over there all by himself.'

'Too bad your mom couldn't make it. I thought maybe I'd finally get to meet her.'

'Oh, we might very well run into her in Greece or somewhere. I'll see you soon, sweetie.'

She gave him a kiss, then scurried off in the direction of her father, leaving Eduardo to approach his own family. Kevin met him on the way, flung his arms around him and said, 'Congrats, Uncle Eduardo! I said you weren't stupid, didn't I?'

'You sure did, Kev,' said Eduardo, hugging him back. 'In fact I think you were the first person who really believed it.'

'Yeah, well,' said Kevin, grinning broadly, 'I know to never underestimate a Rivera.'

'Jeez, Kevin, why are you so tall?' Eduardo went on, hanging onto his nephew for a moment after they drew apart. 'Okay, you're taller than Kylie – most people are – but you'll be taller than me by the time you're sixteen!'

'Well,' said Kevin, 'that's a ways off.'

'Yeah, maybe,' said Eduardo, with a sad little smile.

'Congratulations, Eduardo,' said Beth, jumping in for a hug the moment Kevin had cleared the way. 'I'm so incredibly proud of you!'

'Thanks, Beth,' said Eduardo, finally starting to look a little dewy-eyed.

Beth pulled away, and that left Carl. Kevin looked at him expectantly. Beth cast her eyes nervously from one brother to the other.

'Well,' said Carl, stuffing his hands into his pockets and searching for the right words. 'You did it.'

'I did, didn't I?' said Eduardo.

'Yeah, you did. Um... well done.'

Eduardo smiled, just a very little, and said, 'Thanks, Carl.'


End file.
